


Blank slate

by Cinnamon_for_days



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: A lot more lighthearted than it sounds, Alec is insecure, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Getting Together, Happy Ending, M/M, Writing on Skin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 18:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16000745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinnamon_for_days/pseuds/Cinnamon_for_days
Summary: Alec Lightwood had never written to his soulmate. Not once.  At first it was because of his inability to accept the fact that he was gay, but over the years it had morphed into a fear that he just wasn't good enough for his soulmate.Then Magnus Bane strolled into his life, and all of his plans to not contact his soulmate went spectacularly to hell in the best way possible.





	Blank slate

 

Alec Lightwood had never written to his soulmate. Not once. Sure, he had been scribbling on his skin, dreaming of his soulmate since he could remember, but that was before the soulmate connection took place. The second the younger soulmate turned thirteen (At most, a month after the older soulmate turned thirteen), a bond would form between them, and another person. This bond meant whatever they wrote, spilled, or painted on their skin would appear on the exact same place on your soulmate’s skin. Therefore, contact was able to take place.

That’s what should have happened.

Instead, the night of Alec’s thirteenth birthday, he had been curled up in bed, reading a book, when his hand suddenly itched and tingled. When he looked down, he caught  a glimpse of unfamiliar handwriting across the back of his hand.

That’s when everything went spectacularly to hell.

The ink on his hand was new and bright. Behind it, Alec could just make out the ghost of faded ink, where his soulmate had been tracing over the same message every day since their thirteenth birthday.

Alec only saw the words ‘My name is Mag-!’ and ‘I’m male’ before he swiftly tore his eyes away from his hand, and stuffed it under his pillow, while taking shallow breaths.

His soulmate couldn’t be a boy.

He _couldn’t._

…Now everything made a _whole_ lot more sense.

Alec shut that thought down before it even began, rifled around in his desk drawer and put on some winter gloves to cover up the writing. Then he climbed numbly back into bed, and shut his eyes, taking shallow breaths.

The next day, when his mother asked if he’d written to his soulmate, he just responded “I must be older than them”

His mother said that he’d get to talk to them within a month then, but Alec knew that wasn’t true. He’d already decided.

He was _never_ going to write to his soulmate.

* * *

 

That was how it was begun. Of course, as Alec grew older, and managed to accept himself for who he was (while still letting nothing that could stain his skin near it), he realised that _that_ certain course of action hadn’t exactly been a healthy way to deal with his feelings. Of course, by now his soulmate should’ve given up, right? Since they had received absolutely _no_ kind of correspondence in the last six years.

They hadn’t.

Every day, Alec would find witty jokes scrawled across his ankle, doodles all down his neck, and detailed accounts of his soulmate’s day over his forearm. Alec would often find himself smiling at the hot headed accounts of his soulmate, complaining about how ‘grumpy Ragnor is’ or how ‘Raphael was a menace’ (Somehow, he still didn’t know his soulmate’s name. that first message had washed off before he could bring himself to look at it, and it had just never been mentioned again). He’d find himself laughing at his soulmate’s overly exuberant personality.

(Of course there had been drastic days, when Alec had woken up with permanent marker all over his face from his soulmate, covered in doodles of cats, and once, completely coated from head to toe in glitter. There was still glitter _everywhere._ )

If Alec was openly gay, couldn’t care less about what people thought of him, and was actually _falling in love with his soulmate_ , why couldn’t he pick up a pen?

Easy.

He wasn’t good enough for his soulmate. They deserved _so_ much more than a guy who ignored them for six entire years. A guy who they probably didn’t think _existed._ They probably thought they were _soulmateless!_ Somehow, Alec hoped that the messages would stop. That his soulmate would give up on him, and find someone else to love.

Yet, Alec knew that he would be inevitably heartbroken when he did.

And that pretty much led up to this point. Six years of keeping all glitter, paint, mud and so on away from his skin.

Alec was standing in front of the mirror, pulling on his jacket and pulling his hair out of his face.

Izzy stuck her head around the door “Bro, get a move on. We’re going to be _late!”_

The last word was pronounced like a curse word, despite Izzy being a serial offender of being ‘late’ to things.

“On my way” Alec said distractedly, fishing around the room for his bag, before being forcibly dragged by Izzy out of the room.

The second they stepped out of the apartment, his younger sister was gone, no doubt walking to school with her latest conquest. Looking at his wrist, Alec faintly smiled at the fresh message which was neatly written across it, before schooling his features into a more neutral arrangement.

Rolling his eyes, Alec stepped forwards, his feet crunching on the gravelly path, and started making his way to the first lecture.

As he entered the courtyard, he heard a yell.

“Hey! Alec!” Jace jogged up to him, his blond hair almost blinding against the morning sun. Clary walked behind Jace, hugging a sketchbook to her chest and grinning. The two were soulmates- finally met up earlier that year. Which was why Jace kept bugging him about-

“So when are you planning to meet up with your soulmate?”

-That.

“Soon” Alec said,  leaning up against the building. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t _told_ Jace the whole thing with his soulmate. Maybe Jace still thought his soulmate was a girl three days younger than him, named Bernadette Veneduablahkla, who made pottery in her spare time. When Alec was fifteen he wasn’t a very good liar. He still wasn’t. Which was why…

“My class is about to start” Alec pretended to look at his non-existent watch “Well, better be off then , nice seeing yo-”

“I’m in the same lecture as you” Clary interrupted looking confused “It doesn’t start for another twenty minutes.”

“Well, you see…” Alec cast a furtive glance around him, his eyes finally landing on Magnus Bane, who appeared to be carrying several things at once, “I said I’d meet up with Magnus! He needs help with, um, moving things. Yeah. Gotta go.”

And with that, Alec appeared by Magnus’ side, and took one of the objects from him. Which happened to be a large jar of ink. Grimacing at it, Alec turned to Magnus who was looking on, confused.

“Had to escape an awkward conversation” Alec hissed “Sorry”

Magnus blinked, before grinning and saying “Well _Alexander_ , I could use all the help I could get”

“Where to?” Alec asked, wrapping his arms around the jar

“Art room” Magnus swept one arm dramatically up in the air, balancing everything precariously on the other “I’m feeling inspired!”

The glitter in Magnus’ hair sparkled as Alec looked at him.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t….attracted to Magnus. After all, Magnus pretty much put the ‘fabulous’ in ‘attractive’. They’d shared some classes together last year, and worked on a good portion of group projects together.

But Magnus had a soulmate.

“How’s your soulmate?” Alec blurted, before instantly regretting it.

An unreadable expression passed over Magnus’ face before he beamed “Well, this and that. You know. My soulmate is just amazing” Magnus missed a beat, and then asked “What about yours?”

“Mine?” Alec laughed nervously. _This question was a terrible idea_ “I don’t really… talk to mine that much. I’m not really good enough for them” He scuffed the ground with his shoe

“Alexander.” Magnus said, before stopping abruptly. Alec turned to look at him “You are amazing. Don’t you _ever_ think you aren’t good enough”

The serious expression on Magnus’ face was so rare, Alec shifted the ink jar in his arms, and just said “Yeah..” lamely, before walking off as fast as possible in the direction of the art room.

Then one stone.

One stone decided to play matchmaker for Alec.

It chose to do this by existing right in the middle of the path Alec was power walking down, with his jar of ink.

Which of course lead to:

_Trip!_

_Crash!_

_Shatter!_

_Splash!_

Alec lay sprawled onto the ground, covered in ink. His soulmate, wherever they were, would also currently be covered in ink.

Giving a resigned sigh, Alec nuzzled the gravel path, a small shard of glass cutting into his leg, and decided that he was finished with life,

“Alexander?”

Turning around, slightly dead inside, Alec looked at Magnus. Blinked once. Blinked twice. Stared.

“Alexan-?” Magnus cut off mid-sentence as he caught sight of himself in the window.

Despite feeling meters away when the ink fiasco occurred, Magnus was completely drenched in ink, his face and neck smeared in a dark blue colour.

“Soulmate” Alec said slowly “You’re..my..”

He didn’t manage to get out another word before he was tackled to the ground by Magnus, who hugged him tightly

“I swear to _God_ Alexander, I hate you so much, and _why the hell didn’t you ever reply??!_ But I also love you, and that means we’re boyfriends now.” He looked over at Alec “Right?”

“Right” Alec replied hugging Magnus even closer. The ink all over their skin and clothes matched perfectly, and anyone who passed them would probably be slightly worried.

But for now, the moment was perfect

(Later, when they’d sorted some of their communication issues, they came back for the rock Alec tripped on. They affectionately dubbed it ‘His Highness, Rocky The Third, Royal Matchmaker Of The Lightwood-Bane Alliance’. When they eventually moved in together, they placed it in pride of place on the mantelpiece. His Highness Rocky The Third, Royal Matchmaker Of The Lightwood-Bane Alliance was even one of the best men at their wedding)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for taking the time to read this fic! Hope you enjoyed!


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